Acetylene-generating apparatus.



No. 638,834. Patented Dee. l2. |899.

A. F. cHAcE.

AcETYLENE eEnEnATmG APPARATUS.

(Application led Jan. 19, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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ma Nonms PETERS oo. PHOYKLLITMQ, wAsNmm'oN. u. c.

ilnrrnn STATES' ALBERT F. OHACE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE OHACE CARBIDE AND GAS GENERATOR COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

AcETYLENE-GENERATING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATIN forming part of Letters Patent No, 638,834, dated December 12, 1899. Application nea January 19,1899. serniravozmo. (Nomina.)

To all whom it 71mg/ con/cern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT F. CHACE, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and `State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new 5 and useful Improvements in Acetylene-Gen erating Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to apparatus for generating acetylene gas and it has for io its object to provideimproved automatic regulating devices in the same, and, further, to provide improvements in the construction of apparatus of this class, as will be more fully hereinafter described.

r 5 The invention consists in the several novel features of construction Vand arrangement which I shall now proceed to describe and claim.

Of theaccompanying drawings, forming a 2o part of this specification, Figure l represents a vertical sectional view of a gas-generating apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 represents a detail perspective view, on a largerscale, ofthe agi- 2 5 tator and scraper employed in the generatingreceptacle. Fig. 3 represents a section of the generating-receptacle, taken above the grat-v ing for supporting the carbid.

The same reference characters indicate the 3o same parts in all the figures.

Referring to the drawings, a designates the generating-receptacle, mounted upon a supporting framework or platform b and having supported inside of it a grating a', above 35 which is placed a body of calcium carbid d2 and below which is the water chamber or coinpartment. Y

c designates a vertically-movable receiver or holder consisting, as usual, of an inverted 4o tank, said holder moving in a tankc', which contains water. The receiver communicates with the generating-chamber by means of a pipe e, and a second pipe f leads from said receiver to the illuminating apparatus or other 45 recipient for the gas.

PATENT Omen.

ltaining a gate-valve h', which `is normally `downwardly itself and then upwardly and 95 displacer g', consisting of-a large tank or hollow receptacle having a conical bottom gs. The displacer g is guided in its vertical movements by means of a rod g2, attached to the 55 bottom of the tank g and projecting upwardly therefrom, anda tubular'soicketmr'V pipe g3, attached to and passing centrally through the displacer g' and surrounding said rodgz. The lower part of the tank g communicatesv 6o with'the generating-receptacle a below the grating a' by means of a large pipe h, conopen when the apparatus is in operation.

is a rigid connection between the receiver 65 c and the displacer g', the said connection comprising, as shown in the drawings, sections of pipe jointed together and secured to the respective members by any suitable means, preferably screw-threads, as shown. 7o The receiver and displacer are counterbalanced by means of a weight jz, attached to a cordj, which passes over pulleys jj, mounted on a suitable overhead support, and is secured at its other end to the connection orly 5 frame v1. The `receiver c is guided in its vertical movements by a tubular socket c2, attached to the roof of the receiver, and apipe c3, attached to the bottom of the tank c', said pipe in the present instance being a safety VSo vent-pipe designed to relieve excessive pressure in the receiver c, the gas when under undue pressure passing through holes c4 c4 in the side of the tube c2 and out into the atmosphere through a lower extension'of the pipe c3. 8 5 The whole moving apparatus may be Weighted to a greater or less extent by introducing sand or other ballast g4 into the interior of the displacer g' through a filling-aperture g5 in the top thereof. 9o

7c designates a drip-pipe attached at one end to the carrying-pipe e where the latter passes downwardly in a loop to enter the receiver c, said drip-pipe being looped or bent passing into the generating-receptacle a below the grating a. Inside the generating-receptacle a is mounted a vertical shaft a3, which is stepped in a lower bearing d4 and carries at its lower end roo above said bearing a paddle a5, which when the shaft is rotated acts as an agitator to stir up the contents of the lower compartment of the generator. Above the grating a is a scraper a6, attached to the shaft a3 and comprising a number of radial arms or blades which may, if desired, be inclined fanwise, as shown, so as to tend to force material down through the grating. At the upper end of the shaft as is a handle a7, by means of which said shaft may be rotated to operate the scraper and the agitator.

@L12 is an outlet or waste pipe leading from the lower part of the generating-receptacle ct and containing a gate-valve a. A gas-burner a9 may be provided in the top of the generating-receptacle a to give an index of the generation of gas. Above the grating a',at about the level to which it is desired that the water shall rise in the generatingreceptacle, is placed a cock or faucet d10.

The ap'paratus operates as follows: Water is introduced into the leveling-tank g from a suitable source of supply and,tlowing through the pipe h, it reaches a level in the generating-receptacle a the same as its level in the tank g. The proper level for the water is such as to bring it normally7 into contact with the body of calcium carbid a2, supported on the grating a', so that gas may be generated by the action of the water on said carbid and flow through the pipe e into the receiver c. If the gas generates faster than it can be used, the pressure in the receiver c increases and causes said receiver and the displacer g to rise. The rising of the displacer or piston g lessens the amount of its immersion in the vwater o'f the tank g and causes the level of the water in the tank and in the generatingreceptacle a to be reduced. The reduction of level proceeds until the water falls below the grating a', and in time the generation of gas accordingly ceases. When the pressure of gas in the receiver is again reduced by the drawing off of said gas through the pipef, the receiver c and the displacer g fall until the water in the generating-receptacle ct again rises above the grating a' and the gas again starts to generate. The regulation of the pressure in the receiver is therefore automatic.

From time to time the tendency of the slaked carbid to clog up the grating ot may be overcome by turning the handle a7 and thereby rotating the scraper a6, which causes the slaked carbid to pass through the grating and brings fresh carbid into contact therewith. rlhe rotation of the paddle d5 agitates the contents of the lower part of the receptacle a, stirring up and loosening the solid residuum which has fallen through the grating a and lodged in the bottom of the generating-receptacle. This agitation facilitates the passage of the solid matter through the wastepipe L12 when the gate-valve cl3 is opened, and to further assist the exit of the residuum I may attach to the lower end of the shaft a3 a flat vertical blade or agitator a, which occupies the upper end of the waste-pipe a12 and loosens up the material in the pipe when the shaft CL3 is rotated.

The cock am may be opened to indicate the level of the water in the generating-receptacle at the time said receptacle and the tank g are being filled or at any subsequent time.

The vapor, which may pass over with the das through the pipe e and which condenses in said pipe, is returned by lneans of the drip-pipe 7c to the generating-receptacle a below the grating Cd.

The lower end g6 of the displacer or piston g is made conical in shape, so as to have a gradual effect in changing the level of the water in the leveling and generating tanks.

f designates a scrubber of ordinary construction attached to and forming a part of the outlet-pipeffrom the receiver.

Having thus explained the nature of my invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, although without having attempted to set forth all the forms in which it may be made or all the modes of its use, I declare that what I claim isl. In acetylene apparatus, a generator, a levelingtank communicating therewith, a displacing-piston in said tank consisting of a hollow casing having a conical bottom, and provided with an upper opening whereby ballast may be introduced, and means for closing said opening, a vertical pipe or tube extending centrally through said hollow casing, a rod or guide projecting from the bottom of said tank and extending into said pipe or tube, a movable receiver, and a connection between said receiver and said piston constructed to make the two rise and fall in unison.

2. In acetylene apparatus, a generator, a leveling-tank communicating therewith, a movable displacer in said tank comprising a hollow casing provided with a central tube or socket, means for introducing ballast into said casing, a rigid rod projecting into said tube or socket, a movable-receiver communicating with the generator and also having a central tubular socket and a rigid guide working therein, a connection between said receiver and the displacer constructed to make the two move in unison, and means for counterbalancing said receiver and displacer.

3. In acetylene apparatus, a generating-receptacle, a grating therein for supporting carbid, a vertical shaft in said receptacle, a scraper attached to said shaft above the grating, an agitator attached to said shaft below the grating, a vertical wastepipe leading from the bottom of said receptacle, and a fiat `vertical blade or agitator carried by said shaft and projecting into said waste-pipe.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT F. CIIACE.

Vitnesses:

C. F. BROWN, A. D. HARRIsoN.

IIO 

